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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23669785">Coming Home</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyEkaterina/pseuds/LadyEkaterina'>LadyEkaterina</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Shameless (US)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Family, Fluff, Happily Married, Home, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, M/M, Married Couple, Possibly extra chapters</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-03 01:09:18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,084</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23669785</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyEkaterina/pseuds/LadyEkaterina</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Fiona comes back. But does she have an ulterior motive for turning up when she does?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Ian Gallagher &amp; Mickey Milkovich, Ian Gallagher/Mickey Milkovich</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>253</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Coming Home</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Fiona unlocked the door and walked into her childhood home. She threw the hold-all in front of her and took off her rucksack and dropped it next to her bag. The house was quiet. Really quiet.<br/>
“Hello!” She called. “Is anyone home?”<br/>
Shrugging she went into the kitchen and helped herself to a six pack of beer. Then she sat on the sofa, admiring its newness, kicked off her shoes and put her feet up on the coffee table.<br/>
Five beers in, she’d fallen asleep, bottle still in her hand.</p><p>Mickey was the first one home. It was getting dark, now that winter was setting in. Franny was in his arms, her hair shoved up under the woolly hat to try and keep her warm. He looked at the door, noticing that it was ajar, and put Franny down with a finger to his lips. Franny hid away from the door having been scared by her grandad Frank more than once. He nudged open the door and entered silently, pausing only to take the baseball bat down from its hook. He crept into the living room, looked into the kitchen and was about to check upstairs when he heard a noise behind him. Mickey whirled round, bat raised to see Fiona struggling to sit upright rubbing her eyes. She caught sight of the bat and scrabbled to a seating position.<br/>
“Jesus fuck!” She shouted. Then she peered into the gloom. “Mickey?”<br/>
“Fiona?”<br/>
Mickey clicked the light switch to illuminate the living room. He noted the empty bottles around the couch and bit his lower lip unhappily. Then he strode past Fiona without another word, hung the bat up and went out onto the porch to get Franny. As soon as she saw Fiona, she hid behind Mickey’s leg peering out at the woman on their couch.<br/>
“Is that Franny?” Asked Fiona in a slightly too loud voice causing the little girl to hide her face in Mickey’s leg.<br/>
Mickey bent down and undid Franny’s coat and took off her hat. She then put her outer clothes away whilst Mickey took his own coat off, eyes never leaving Fiona.<br/>
The door burst open with Ian and Liam bustling through coming to a dead stop when they saw their sister.<br/>
“Fiona?” Ian’s face was confused. He also spotted the bottles and caught Mickey’s eye.<br/>
Liam ran to his sister and let her envelop him in a hug. Fiona looked over at Ian.<br/>
“Hi sweetface.”<br/>
Ian went over and hugged his sister with slightly less enthusiasm.<br/>
“Where’s Carl? And Lip? And how come Mickey’s here? With Franny? Where’s Debs?”<br/>
Fiona seemed to have question after question.<br/>
Ian looked at her, managing to stay calm.<br/>
“Carl’s at work. Lip’s at his own house with his own family. Mickey is here because he’s my husband. Didn’t you get the emails?”<br/>
Fiona shrugged non-committedly<br/>
Ian continued.<br/>
“Franny adores him and he’s often the one to pick her up from pre-school. So you probably won’t know Debs is in jail....”<br/>
Fiona was about to say something when Ian took a deep breath.<br/>
“Carl will be back soon. Lip, Tami and Freddy will be here for dinner tonight.” He turned to his husband. “Mickey will it stretch to one more?“<br/>
Mickey nodded but said nothing.<br/>
“Ok. I need to get changed. Liam, can you and Franny tidy up the couch.” Here he looked meaningfully at Fiona. “And lay the table.”<br/>
Ian nodded at Mickey and the two then went upstairs together.<br/>
“Wait? Debs is in jail?” Yelled Fiona.<br/>
“We don’t talk about it in front of...” Here Liam nodded to Franny who was already picking up the empty bottles and taking them to the trash.<br/>
Fiona looked over at her youngest brother. He picked up the remaining bottles.<br/>
“You drank all these? Mickey’s gonna be pissed.”<br/>
“Mickey Milkovich can fuck off.” Mumbled Fiona.<br/>
Liam, sharp eared as ever, replied.<br/>
“Gallagher. Mickey Gallagher.”</p><p>Mickey came back down first, dressed in grey sweats.<br/>
“Ian’s having a shower.” He said to the room at large, shortly.<br/>
Fiona had taken another beer out of the fridge and was sat on the sofa talking to Liam. As soon as Franny spotted Mickey she ran to him and held on tightly to the hem of his T-shirt.<br/>
“Hey Franny.” He said warmly. “Wanna come and help me make dinner?”<br/>
The little girl nodded, and then wrinkled her nose.<br/>
“Uncle Carl’s home huh?” Mickey sniffed and turned as the door opened again. Carl stomped in.<br/>
“Hey everyone. What’s... Fiona!” Carl started for his sister when Mickey’s bark stopped him.<br/>
“Hey! Psycho killer. Get upstairs and shower before you stink up the whole house.”<br/>
Fiona looked at him.<br/>
“What? You wanna hug him?”<br/>
Carl disappeared upstairs just as Ian came down.<br/>
“Ok Franny.” Said Mickey untangling himself from the little girl. “I gotta go cook. You go show Ian your reading.”<br/>
Ian sat down happily and Franny got her school bag and climbed onto his lap. Fiona watched the two of them for a few moments before hearing the back door open.<br/>
“Hi Mickey!” She heard Lip say. Lip. Being pleasant to Mickey Milkovich? Gallagher. What the fuck ever. Then she heard a woman and a child. Tami, she thought and Freddy.<br/>
“Your sister’s here.” Mickey returned the greeting.<br/>
“Debbie? Debbie’s out?”<br/>
“The other one.”<br/>
Lip saw Fiona peer into the kitchen.<br/>
“Fiona?”<br/>
He moved to hug her.<br/>
“What are you doing here?”<br/>
Fiona shrugged.<br/>
“Just visiting.” She moved towards the fridge. “You want a beer?”<br/>
Mickey looked up from his chopping, but said nothing. Lip looked uncomfortable for a minute and exchanged a glance with Tami.<br/>
“Er no thanks Fi.”<br/>
Tami waved at Fiona and spoke to the small child in her arms.<br/>
“Freddy, that’s your auntie Fiona. She’s visiting from out of town.”<br/>
Fiona smiled at the kid.<br/>
“He looks like Carl when he was a baby” She said.</p><p>Dinner was the usual chaotic affair. Spaghetti and meatballs with garlic bread. Mickey got up to go to the fridge.<br/>
“Ian do you want a beer?”<br/>
“Yeah. Thanks.”<br/>
Mickey opened the fridge and pulled out two beers.<br/>
“Looks like we’re all out.”<br/>
“Again?”<br/>
Carl immediately set about denying everything.<br/>
“Oh”, giggled Fiona. “That might have been me.”<br/>
Mickey sat down in silence to eat his dinner.</p><p>Ian and Lip told Fiona about the wedding with Carl and Liam both chipping in. They told her about the car Liam blagged from Frank which made her laugh, they told her about Terry and the Bamboo Lotus burning down. Mickey spent most of the time helping Franny eat her spaghetti, until Fiona asked him a question.<br/>
“So where’s Terry now, Mickey?”<br/>
“Prison.” Replied Mickey.<br/>
Fiona raised an eyebrow.<br/>
“Turns out trying to kill my husband puts me in a really bad mood. And while a Milkovich don’t snitch, Mickey Gallagher is more than happy to sing to the fuckin rooftops to protect his family.”<br/>
Ian surreptitiously squeezed Mickey’s knee. Fiona looked around the table. No one was even slightly perturbed by Mickey’s declaration of love and family. In fact Liam looked like he’d heard it too many times.</p><p>After dinner, Tami made her excuses saying Freddy had to go to sleep. she nodded at Fiona and kissed Lip.<br/>
Carl and Lip washed up whilst Ian took Franny upstairs for her bath and bedtime. Mickey sat with Fiona and Liam and told her the story of Debbie, Claudia and her daughter Julia.</p><p>Then. Mickey turned to Liam. “You got homework, man?”<br/>
”Yeah. Science and Maths”<br/>
“Ok you get started in the kitchen. If Lip is still here he’ll help you. If not Ian and I can tag team.”</p><p>When Ian came down, he said “Are you staying Fiona?”<br/>
“If there’s room?”<br/>
“There’s the sofa or of course there’s Debs bed with Franny.”<br/>
“I’ll take the sofa.”<br/>
Ian went to get blankets from upstairs.<br/>
“You know I think I might go to the Alibi. Check in on everyone.” Announced Fiona. “You wanna come Lip, Ian?”<br/>
Lip shook his head from the kitchen table. “Gotta get home.”<br/>
Ian also shook his head. “Nah. Could use an early night” he replied, raking his eyes over Mickey’s body. Lip snorted at this, but said nothing.<br/>
“OK well I’ll see you later.” And she was gone.</p><p>They sat in silence until Carl broke it.<br/>
“That was weird, right?”<br/>
Everyone nodded.</p><p>Mickey lay in bed not sleeping, despite having gone a couple of rounds with his husband. Ian was gently snoring and he grinned at having tired him out. But Mickey couldn’t sleep. His mind was replaying dinner and the strange look on Fiona’s face when Lip asked how long she was staying. He heard a strange tinkling noise. Mickey huffed and got out of the warm bed. He dropped a kiss on Ian’s forehead, causing the redhead to smile and snuggle into Mickey’s pillow happily.<br/>
In sweats and a hoodie, Mickey quietly came down the back stairs. He came across Fiona rummaging in the cupboard under the sink. Mickey looked around. It looked like Fiona had already been through most of the cupboards. Mickey stood in the middle of the kitchen and cleared his throat. Startled, Fiona hit her head trying to extricate herself from the cupboard.<br/>
“The squirrel fund isn’t kept in the kitchen any more Fiona. We had to protect it from Frank. And now, apparently you.”<br/>
Fiona stood up and turned her smile on Mickey.<br/>
“I wasn’t looking for...”<br/>
But Mickey cut her off.<br/>
“Save it. How much do you owe?”<br/>
Fiona backed away and tried the defensive.<br/>
“How fucking dare you, Mickey. This is my house you're living in, don’t forget. So have a little respect.” She hissed.<br/>
Mickey laughed.<br/>
“Fiona. I can smell fear. And you’ve been terrified since you got here. Now you can pussy foot around it or we can talk.”<br/>
He looked at her.<br/>
“You look like you could use a proper drink. Whisky?”<br/>
“You have whisky?”<br/>
“I do.”<br/>
Fiona nodded and sat at the table. Mickey returned with two glasses of whisky.<br/>
He sat opposite her and handed over one of the glasses. She sniffed it.<br/>
“Nice.”<br/>
“A wedding present.”<br/>
Fiona shook her head.<br/>
“I can’t believe you married my little brother.“<br/>
Mickey looked down and blushed slightly.<br/>
“Yeah.”<br/>
Then he looked directly at Fiona.<br/>
“Don’t distract me by talking about Ian. What’s going on?”<br/>
“I met a man.”<br/>
Mickey laughed.<br/>
“Yeah a lot of stories begin like that.”<br/>
“It was all going really well. Until it wasn’t.”<br/>
“Ok”<br/>
“So I left.”<br/>
“Uh Huh.”<br/>
“But “</p><p>Fiona told the tale of settling in Arkansas and getting a job at a large bar owned by a Dennis. How within a couple of months she was in Dennis’ bed which really ticked off one of the other waitresses. Fiona found her tips going down as the other waitresses made sure she got the worst tables and the crappiest customers. Without the tips, she couldn’t afford her room so Dennis loaned her money. And then she met Tim at the bar. Tim swept her off her feet, but Dennis caught them, fired Fiona and demanded his money back. </p><p>Mickey drained his whisky.<br/>
“Ok so you owe this guy”<br/>
“Dennis”<br/>
“Yeah, Dennis. How much?”<br/>
“4,325 dollars”<br/>
Mickey whistled.<br/>
“That’s it?” Mickey gave her a Milkovich stare.<br/>
Fiona crumbled after the whisky and the stare.<br/>
“That’s it. I swear Mickey.”<br/>
Then she laughed.<br/>
“Fuck, when did Mickey Milkovich become the most adult Gallagher?”<br/>
“He laughed.<br/>
“The day after I married your brother, man.<br/>
Then Fiona looked shifty.<br/>
“Do you have to tell Ian about this?”<br/>
Mickey rubbed his forehead and pinched the bridge of his nose.<br/>
“I don’t keep fuckin secrets from my husband. And, in any case..”<br/>
“What?”<br/>
“He’s hiding in the living room listening to us both.” Mickey raised his voice. “Aren’t you Gallagher?”<br/>
Ian shamefacedly came into the light.<br/>
“How did you know I was there?”<br/>
Mickey smiled softly.<br/>
“I always know when you're near.”<br/>
Fiona made gagging noises.<br/>
Ian looked at her.<br/>
“You were going to steal from us?”<br/>
His voice was sad.<br/>
“Not steal, sweetface, borrow. Just borrow.”<br/>
“You sound like mom.”<br/>
Fiona sat back like she’d been struck.<br/>
“I... I...”<br/>
Then she remembered something<br/>
“What happened to the money I left?”<br/>
Ian shook his head.<br/>
“Debbie. And Frank. Lethal combo.”<br/>
“All gone?”<br/>
“Every cent.” Said Mickey. “Before Ian even got out of prison!”<br/>
“Christ. Guess I should’ve given it to you guys huh? I just thought with your illness Ian.....”<br/>
“You thought I’d be like mom. Ironic.” Ian’s voice was cold.<br/>
Mickey squeezed his hand<br/>
“OK guys. Never mind about that. Apparently this Dennis is on his way up here and...” here Mickey looked pointedly at Fiona.<br/>
“And so we need to decide what to do. As a family.”<br/>
Ian came to stand behind his husband with his arms around Mickey’s neck.<br/>
Mickey rubbed Ian’s arm gently.<br/>
“I think we should all get some sleep.” Said Ian. “We’ll talk tomorrow.”</p><p>The next morning, breakfast was made for Liam and Franny while Mickey rummaged around the fridge before making two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and adding a cereal bar into the bag.<br/>
“Liam can you walk Franny to preschool please?” Asked Ian.<br/>
Liam nodded.<br/>
Ian texted Lip, while Mickey went to get Carl up.<br/>
The Gallagher men sat round the table and Mickey got everyone coffee.</p><p>“Thanks for coming over Lip.” Ian started. He laid out the predicament as simply as possible. Then he took out some money from his pocket<br/>
“OK. We have $2,050 from the squirrel fund.”<br/>
“Will that leave you short?” Lip was concerned.<br/>
“Mick and I will have to do some extra over time. So Carl here might be on Franny duty for a while, but we think It’s doable.”<br/>
“I’ve got $750.” Lip added. “It was for the house but...”<br/>
Mickey nodded at him.<br/>
Fiona stared at them.<br/>
“You brought him here Fiona. We’ll do our best to pay him off but then what?” Asked Ian.<br/>
Fiona looked a bit uncertain.<br/>
“I thought I might stick around for a while.”<br/>
“No”<br/>
Everyone looked at Carl.<br/>
“I’m sorry Fiona but you can’t stay.” Carl drew in a deep breath.<br/>
“The house works. Ian and Mickey look after us now and you wouldn’t be able to just come in and pick up where you left off. I like having a house where people aren’t out getting ng smashed every night. Where Liam is doing well at school. Where Franny doesn’t have nightmares even though her mom is gone.”<br/>
He shook his head.<br/>
“I love you and I miss you. But you can’t stay.”<br/>
The Gallagher boys all nodded their heads in agreement.<br/>
“Fuck!” shouted Fiona. “After everything I’ve done for this family, this is how you repay me.”<br/>
She pushed her chair back to get up. Lip put his hand on her arm.<br/>
“Don’t you see? It’s because you did such a good job that then family works?”<br/>
She looked at him.<br/>
“And later, in a few years, it might be the right time for you to come home.”<br/>
Fiona nodded, mollified.<br/>
“Right” said Ian. “We’re still 1,500 short. Any ideas.”<br/>
Fiona brightened up.<br/>
“I’ve got some coke in my bag.”<br/>
“How much?” Asked Carl<br/>
She went to her hold-all and gave him the decent sized pouch of coke.<br/>
Mickey took it off him and weighed it experimentally.<br/>
“About two grand here.”<br/>
He thumbed his nose.<br/>
“Sandy’ll help us offload it.”<br/>
Ian smiled at his husband.<br/>
“I’ll text her”</p><p>Carl went to work, Lip back to the garage. Ian kissed his husband and went upstairs for a nap.</p><p>Mickey sat with Fiona in the living room waiting for Sandy.</p><p>Fiona was struggling with the events of the last 24 hours. Eventually she asked,<br/>
“So, Mickey, are you and Ian gonna get your own place like Lip or...”<br/>
“Not for a while. You heard Carl. Liam needs a parent and, let’s face it, Carl’s probably gonna need bail at some point, so we need to save for that.”<br/>
Fiona laughed.<br/>
“Probably true.”<br/>
“Little Red has 6 more weeks as long as she keeps her nose clean. She doesn’t always think about the consequences of her actions, y’know?”<br/>
Fiona nodded, wondering how the fuck Mickey Milkovich had got the measure of her family so well.<br/>
“And I know Ian would want to be here for Franny as well as staying close to Lip.”<br/>
“You know my brother well.”</p><p>Mickey looked at the floor. When he spoke his tone was soft, loving.<br/>
“He wants kids of his own, you know? And he wants the younger ones to have what he had. A family who loved and protected him. He wants to be that for his brothers and sister and his nieces and nephews.”<br/>
Fiona looked at Mickey surprised at his tenderness.<br/>
“And you, Mickey, what do you want?”<br/>
Mickey raised an eyebrow.<br/>
“Well you've probably figured out by now that whatever Ian wants, I’m gonna do whatever I can to help make it happen. I never thought I’d get anything like this in my life. This is more than I ever dreamed of.”<br/>
Mickey blushed at his own openness. But he was there now.<br/>
”It feels good though. Being able to give these kids what I never had. Stability. Safety. Someone to turn up at parents evening y’know?“<br/>
Fiona smiled her wide smile at him, brown eyes meeting blue and a truce being declared the living room.<br/>
“Yeah. I know.”<br/>
Sandy came in through the back door and Mickey had a conversation with her in the kitchen.<br/>
“Ok she’ll give us 1500 cash now.”<br/>
“We don’t really have a choice”<br/>
“Good I’m glad you agree.”<br/>
He put the cash in an envelope and hid it.<br/>
“It’s my day off, Fiona, so I’m gonna go up and see my husband. Call us if this Dennis arrives.”<br/>
“OK Mickey.”<br/>
As he walked to the stairs she said<br/>
“Thank you for looking after my family,”<br/>
Mickey turned.<br/>
“They're my family too, Fiona.”<br/>
He added.<br/>
“As are you.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Family</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Dennis appears and Fiona gains an understanding</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The next few days passed pretty quietly. Whilst they waited for Dennis’ arrival, people went to work, cleaned, cooked and lived and Fiona watched them all from her spot on the sofa. In the evening she would disappear out and wouldn't return until the early hours of the morning.</p>
<p>One night, after one hell of a long day at work and quite the after-work workout, Mickey and Ian were dead to the world, when  Ian was awoken by an insistent whisper in his ear.<br/>“Uncle Een. Uncle EEN”, and a small hand shaking him. <br/>Despite Mickey being closer to the door, Franny had walked over to Ian’s side to wake him, having made the mistake once before of rousing Mickey and nearly getting a black eye. That had taken some serious comforting, and one of Mickey’s hidden snickers bars. <br/>Ian opened his eyes and turned to see Franny, in her pjs, hopping from foot to foot clutching at her pyjama bottoms.<br/>Ian’s movement caused Mickey to jerk awake. He looked over to see what was going on. <br/>“Hey little red” he mumbled. You ok?”<br/>Ian sat up properly. <br/>What’s up Franny? Bad dream?”<br/>Franny shook her head. <br/>“There’s a man in the bathroom.”<br/>Mickey raised an eyebrow at Ian. Ian nodded and the two of them got up, throwing T-shirts on before heading out. Ian held his hand out for Franny.. <br/>“Come on” he said. Franny took the offered hand and they followed Mickey out onto the landing. The two men looked into the bathroom. The light was on but it was empty. <br/>“All clear now. You uh need to go?”<br/>Frannie nodded urgently, and they left her to stand guard outside.<br/>When Franny re emerged Ian said <br/>“Why don’t you go snuggle down with uncle Mickey eh Franny?”<br/>The little girl nodded her head already sleepy again. She let Mickey scoop her up and carry her easily into their bedroom.<br/>He could hear giggling and movement downstairs. Realisation dawned and, jaw set, Ian made his way down towards the noise.<br/>Fiona and an unknown man were cavorting on the sofa. Ian had got down the stairs and to the light switch before Fiona even noticed. He flicked the switch and the room was suddenly lit up causing the couple to break apart. </p>
<p>“What the fuck?” Fiona was pulling her top down and glaring at Ian.<br/>“We’re trying not to give the little ones nightmares” snarked Ian. “And your friend was seen in the bathroom”<br/>“It’s always been like this, Ian. You know that.”<br/>“Yeah, and maybe we’re trying to make it better.” Replied Ian.<br/>“Er, I should probably go” mumbled the man, who in Ian’s opinion was punching way above his weight with his sister.<br/>“Yeah. Bye.” Said Ian, eyes still locked with Fiona.<br/>When the two were alone, Ian smiled.<br/>“Ok he was way below your usual standard. What the hell were you thinking?”<br/>Fiona actually laughed. <br/>“Hey Ian?”<br/>“Yeah?”<br/>“Remember I told you and Mickey about the other guy…”<br/>“Yeah”<br/>“Well I didn’t tell you everything.”<br/>Ian smirked “Why? Was it Jimmy Steve”<br/>Fiona actually blushed.<br/>“It was!” Exclaimed Ian. “It was fuckin’ Jimmy Steve! Oh Fiona!” He was laughing now.<br/>“Shut the fuck up.” Retorted Fiona. “You married Mickey fucking Milkovich!”</p>
<p>This sobered Ian up right away.<br/>“ so why didn’t you come to the wedding? Too busy fucking Jimmy Steve?”<br/>Fiona looked at the floor.<br/>“You are fucking kidding me!” Ian’s volume was starting to climb.<br/>“it wasn’t that exactly.” Fiona sounded sheepish.<br/>Ian crossed his arms and stared his sister expectantly.<br/>“Uh... “ the Fiona gabbled it out.<br/>“I wasn’t sure it’d actually happen.”<br/>To her surprise, Ian didn’t shout. He just said.<br/>“Oh. Of course” and turned to leave the room.<br/>“Ian,” Fiona called after him. He didn’t turn.<br/>“Ian. I’m sorry.” <br/>Nothing.</p>
<p>In the landing light he could see Franny snuggled into Mickey and the pair of them looked to be fast asleep. Ian smiled to himself, feeling his rage ebb away. Every so often he’d be hit with the total love he had for Mickey. Ian turned out the light and snuck into the bed on the other side. He curled himself around Mickey, feeling the warmth and comfort of his husband. He buried his nose in the back of Mickey’s neck, letting the sweet scents wash over him. Mickey’s left hand snaked up and over and stroked Ian’s hair.<br/>“You OK?” Mickey’s voice was gruff with sleep, but concerned.<br/>Ian sighed. “Yeah. Just Fiona, you know.”<br/>Mickey chuckled. He knew.<br/>“She just winds me up so much. Did you know she didn’t come to the wedding ‘cause she didn’t think it would really happen?”<br/>To Ian’s surprise all Mickey said was “Huh”<br/>“Huh? That all you’ve got to say?”<br/>“Your brothers had a book on it for a while.”<br/>“What?!”<br/>“Yeah. Debbie told Sandy, so she put a stop to it.”<br/>Mickey shuffled over trying to keep Franny safely ensconced and squinted at Ian in the dark.<br/>“I was trying to work out how we could scoop the cash but then Sandy had to ‘do the right thing,’” Ian smirked at this, bending to kiss Mickey and keeping his fratricidal thoughts to himself. <br/>“So if you wanna destress like we usually do, I’m gonna need to put Little Red in her own bed.” Mickey nodded at the child asleep in his arms.<br/>Ian sighed as he contemplated some stress relief vs being a good uncle. <br/>“Nah. She was scared by Fiona’s friend. Let’s keep her close.”<br/>“All right.”<br/>Mickey turned back over, saying over his shoulder.<br/>“You wanna fuckin’ koala me then?”<br/>Ian wrapped himself around his husband dropping soft kisses along his neck.<br/>“Night Mick.”</p>
<p>Breakfast was awkward. Ian wasn’t talking to Fiona, and Fiona was too stubborn to grovel. Ian rushed around the kitchen like a whirlwind before kissing Mickey and leaving the house, slamming the door. Carl and Liam looked pointedly at Mickey. He shrugged.<br/>“He’s pissed at Fiona for not coming to the wedding because she didn’t think it’d happen.”<br/>“Ohhh” the two nodded, understanding. Carl looked at Fiona. <br/>“You’re an asshole.”<br/>“Fuck off. Like you all thought it was a definite thing.”<br/>Mickey downed his coffee and got up. <br/>“Come on little nibs. Let’s get you to daycare. Liam you all right to walk home today?”<br/>Liam nodded hardly looking up from his book.<br/>Carl and Liam left shortly afterwards, and Fiona was left alone with her thoughts. </p>
<p>Restless, Fiona wandered about the house. She peered into bedrooms, noticing that the one that seemed to be Ian’s was far tidier than she expected, especially remembering the Milkovich house. What used to be Debbies room was piled up with broken furniture and clothes. Frank, she thought. </p>
<p>There was an aggressive knock at the door. Fiona ran down the stairs and stopped to get her breath back. She grabbed the envelope of money, checked that the baseball bat was in place and went to open the door.</p>
<p>Dennis was standing there, arms folded.<br/>“Dennis.”<br/>“Hi Fiona. You got my money?”<br/>She patted her pocket.<br/>“Right here.”<br/>“You gonna invite me in then?”<br/>Fiona thought for a split second before nodding and opening the door wide. Dennis strode in, grabbing the envelope as he passed. <br/>“This your home? Jesus, bitch it’s a dump!”<br/>Fiona bit her tongue. This may have been a mistake.<br/>Dennis walked around occasionally touching a piece of furniture and then making ‘ewww’ noises. Eventually Fiona spoke up.<br/>“You’ve got your money Dennis. Don’t you have to go?”<br/>He turned around and looked her up and down nastily.”<br/>“Thought I might stick around for a bit. Reclaim what’s mine.”<br/>“I don’t think so, Dennis.”<br/>“I don’t think you have a lot to say about it. Fee Yo Na” Dennis stressed the name. He moved far quicker than Fiona expected and had her in his arms.<br/>Just then the door opened and Mickey and Carl bundled in. A couple of minutes later Lip came through the back<br/>“Hey can I hide out here for a bit, Tami is.... What the fuck is going on here?”<br/>Fiona pushed Dennis away.<br/>“Time to go Dennis.”<br/>The name put them all on edge. The three men turned to look at Dennis.<br/>“Who the fuck are these clowns eh?”<br/>Fiona looked around.<br/>“My brothers.”<br/>“Er.” Mickey spoke up. “Even me?”<br/>“Well yeah.” Said Fiona. “You’re a Gallagher ain’t ya?”<br/>“I think of you as my brother.” Added Carl.<br/>Lip nodded. “Yeah, Sorry, bro, you’re our bro!”<br/>“Huh” nodded Mickey.<br/>“Excuse me!” Shouted Dennis. “What the fuck is going on here!”<br/>“Oh sorry mate!” Said Lip. “Mick, d’you mind?”<br/>“What? Oh right.” Mickey laid Dennis out with one punch.<br/>“What d’you wanna do about the money?”<br/>“Oh, we’re getting that back.” Carl was already going through the body’s pockets. He pulled out the envelope and then he and Lip dragged Dennis out of the house and away down the street.</p>
<p>Mickey was walking into the kitchen.<br/>“You want a beer Fiona?”<br/>“Actually I could use a shot of that whisky of yours.”<br/>Mickey gave her a look but got the bottle and poured two shots.<br/>“Mickey, can I ask you something?”<br/>He handed her a glass.<br/>“We are family...”<br/>She smiled. <br/>“How did you know?”<br/>“What?”<br/>“About Ian. Why d’you come back. How did you know he was the one?”<br/>Mickey raised an eyebrow, but Fiona looked serious.<br/>He rubbed his hand across his face, stuffed his palms into his eyes and knocked back the shot. Then he poured himself another and downed that. Looking straight at Fiona, albeit slightly blearily Mickey sighed.<br/>“OK you ever seen that movie, The Wedding Date or whatever?”<br/>“Yeah, but I’m surprised you have!”<br/>“Mandy.” Explained Mickey.<br/>“Right, well there’s this bit in it where the man says to the girl, ‘I’d rather fight with you than make love with anyone else.’” <br/>Mickey shrugged.<br/>“That’s fucking thing. I’d rather be arguing with Ian than fucking anyone else. He’s it for me. He’s my first thought when I wake up and my last before I sleep and all that sappy crap”<br/>Fiona looked at him, her brown eyes soft. <br/>“Wow.” <br/>Mickey looked embarrassed.<br/>“Yeah, well”<br/>The door opened then and Ian came in with Franny. Ian debundled Franny from her coat and she ran to give Mickey a hug. Mickey looked at the two Gallaghers and took Franny into the kitchen saying<br/>“Come on little bit. I’ll fix you a snack.”<br/>Ian and Fiona stood in the living room<br/>“I’m sorry Ian. I was wrong.”<br/>“Thanks. Did Dennis come.”<br/>“Yeah. Er. It got a bit tricky but lucikily my brothers were there to help me out.”<br/>“Good.”<br/>“Mickey knocked Dennis out” Fiona shrugged.<br/>Ian laughed.<br/>“Mickey Huh?”<br/>“Yeah. We talked. I get it. He loves you.”<br/>“Yeah”<br/>“You’re a lucky guy Ian.”<br/>“I know”<br/>“I think” Fiona walked around the room. “I think I’m gonna go give Jimmy another chance.”<br/>“Yeah?”<br/>“Yeah. You know I’d rather fight with him than make love with anyone else.”<br/>Ian smiled recognising the quote.<br/>“I hope he realises how lucky he is.”<br/>Fiona nodded.<br/>“Me too”<br/>That night the family ate pizza courtesy of Dennis. Then Fiona packed herself up, hugged everyone tightly and got ready to leave. Mickey was the last to be hugged, and despite himself he tensed up.<br/>“Look after them for me” whispered Fiona. He nodded, with slightly glassy eyes. She waved and was gone.<br/>“Storm Fiona has left the building” announced Carl.</p>
<p>Later, much later, that night Ian had his head on Mickey’s chest.<br/>“Our day off tomorrow. What d’you wanna do?”<br/>“Well,” began Mickey. “Franny will appear at about 6 and if we’re lucky we’ll get an extra half hour with her cuddled in. Aren’t we supposed to be taking her your brothers to see Debbie? That’ll take most of the day. And it’s family night tonight.”<br/>“Hmmmmm.” Said Ian teasingly.<br/>“Well, I’ve arranged for Franny to go see her uncle Carl when she wakes up and Lip has agreed to take everyone to see Debbie, so the way I look at it we’ve got an empty house from about 8 o’clock, and so I thought we could have a late morning in bed followed by pancakes later?”<br/>Mickey grinned and wrestled Ian over on to his back<br/>“I like the sound of that Gallagher.”<br/>“Me too Gallagher”</p>
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